CS1056: Unexpected character '$'

When you get the message " CS1056: Unexpected character '$' " in runtime asp.net, it means that the front end file (html/aspx) is using a way of formatting strings which is called "string interpolation".
But to use string interpolation in your web frontend files you must put the following into your web.config file:

<system.codedom>   <compilers>     <compiler language="c#;cs;csharp" extension=".cs"       type="Microsoft.CodeDom.Providers.DotNetCompilerPlatform.CSharpCodeProvider, Microsoft.CodeDom.Providers.DotNetCompilerPlatform, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35"       warningLevel="4" compilerOptions="/langversion:6 /nowarn:1659;1699;1701"/>     <compiler language="vb;vbs;visualbasic;vbscript" extension=".vb"       type="Microsoft.CodeDom.Providers.DotNetCompilerPlatform.VBCodeProvider, Microsoft.CodeDom.Providers.DotNetCompilerPlatform, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35"       warningLevel="4" compilerOptions="/langversion:14 /nowarn:41008 /define:_MYTYPE=\&quot;Web\&quot; /optionInfer+"/>   </compilers> </system.codedom>

Source:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/30832659/string-interpolation-in-a-razor-view

Disclaimer:

The above worked for me, but may not work for all .NET Framework versions and/or ASP.NET versions.

Catching mails

When developing a solution, sometimes it is nice to be able to catch mails and store them somewhere in stead of potentially sending them to real customers.

In web.config or app.config, there is a setting that can accomplish that for you:

<system.net>
  <mailSettings>
    <smtp deliveryMethod="SpecifiedPickupDirectory">
      <specifiedPickupDirectory pickupDirectoryLocation="c:\Temp\Mail"/>
    </smtp>
  </mailSettings>
</system.net>

 If you install an eml-viewer or maybe just a regular mail client, you can open and read the mails from the folder you specified.

Source:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/567765/how-can-i-save-an-email-instead-of-sending-when-using-smtpclient